TR: 90 Minutes at Knott's Berry Farm...

Click HERE for our photo update from today.

So today we went down to Knott's since Dave and Mary were in town since it had been like 4 or 5 years since Dave had been to the park, and Mary had NEVER been there.

Of course, reading the boards, Dave had heard about how "great" the park has been operating lately, but you know, we always go into the place with the best of intentions and hope that everything we've been hearing doesn't come true. Well....unfortunatly, today's visit to the park was pretty much "As Advertised" *sigh*

First off, we're REALLY glad we go there VERY early to be the first in line at the season pass processing center since we all needed to get passes, and it turns out there was a HUGE line out the door, and the park only staffed *one* person in the pass processing center today.

Oh, sure...some people came into help but the conversation went something like this.

GR Person: "Do you know how to use the camera?"

Random KBF person "Camera?"

GR: "That thing on the tri-pod."

Random KBFer: "Tri-pod?"

GR: "Nevermind...go away!!!!"

Seriously...there were like two people who came in to help, and neither person had a clue how to operate any of the equipment, so they left. So yeah, by them *trying* to get people to help, they actually made the process go SLOWER! It took us like 20 minutes to get our passes once the center opened...and we were the FIRST ones in line!!!! *sigh*

So off we go to the front of the park and the gates are due to open in about 10 minutes. We check the sign and it says "All Attractions Will Be Operating Today." Kick ass! Nothing closed!

The park opens, and we head right over to Silver Bullet. Up to the station we go, and we find them STILL doing their morning testing. So yet again, in true Knott's tradition, the park opens, but the rides are STILL not ready. After a few empty trains we're off....I'll keep my review of Silver Bullet brief since I've already written one here:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=396

Basically, it's not the worst B&M invert, but it's FAR from the best. Personally I think it's a toss up between Talon and Silver Bullet as the 'weakest' invert. Silver Bullet got the overbanked turn, Talon's got a nice compact layout. Eh...whatever....

Next up, GHOSTRIDER! Now we keep hearing from people that after that amazingly extensive "two week" re-hab that Ghostrider is now "Silver Bullet Smooth."

Ok...let's see.....well, I have to say that it actually WAS better than the last time I rode it. Was it "Silver Bullet Smooth?" FAR FROM IT! And even though it was better, it's still a shadow of it's former self. You can FEEL every board that the train rolls over. It's certainly rideable, but it's not what it used to be.

So after GR, we head over to XLR8R and see an empty station.....but wait...it's TOO empty. No one in line....but NO ONE even operating the ride either. Yes, the ride was closed today. WTF??! In fact, this now starts our tour of "Closed rides even though the sign out front said everything was open."

So we walk by XLR8R....CLOSED.....Perilous Plunge....CLOSED....Screamin' Swing....CLOSED.

WTF?!?!?

So FINALLY we find a ride that is open....The Log Ride. Of course they are only running one side and the line is long, but thankfully we got in line when we did, because it quickly became a 30 minute wait and they still only kept one side open.

We rode Montezooma's which all of us quickly realized "Wow...is it good or bad when the BEST ride we've been on all day is the Shuttle Loop that's nearly 30 years old???"

We were almost going to ride Jaguar when we notice they are running one train empty, one train full...and STACKING the trains!!!! How bad does a crew have to be that they actually managed to stack a ride....with TWO lift hills, that is probably like 3 minutes long, and they ONLY have to worry about loading and unloading ONE train. Wow. That takes talent.

Finally we had enough. Between the line jumpers, the poor operations, the obnoxious ride ops on the microphones, the closed rides, and the fact that we just weren't having much fun, we decided to leave and go to the mall, where we actually had a good time!

*sigh* Knott's used to be one of the best parks in the world, IMO...and it's only gotten worse and worse in the past 5 years.

--Robb

Hey Robb,

thanks for the nice pictures. I really liked them. And I think I found the mistake in the picture. There are hanging Silver Bullet T-shirts at the Ghostrider store, right?

--Soeren

Haha, I love your reviews on Knott's Robb.

The last time I went there, I rode Silver Bullet for the first time. It was the only ride we rode and left immediately after.

I remember having high hopes for Knott's when Cedar Fair took over. Wow, I thought Magic Mountain would actually have some stiff competition in their own backyard. It started off well, with Supreme Scream and Ghostrider. I thought Perilous Plunge was ok, that is, when it is open. Then Silver Bullet? B&M invert bigger than Batman, sounds good in theory.

I think Knott's will always live in the shadows of Disneyland Resort and Magic Mountain.

Wow I dont know what to expect from Knotts when im going to go there this year... This is definately interesting. I want to know why they differ so much from the other CF parks? I never really had a problem at CP yet or anything, but this park seems to be down so little in caring for their guests it seems like. (This park reminds me of BGT SO much).

Silver Bullet definately looks interesting, not a coaster on the top of my list that I want to ride more than Xcelerator there, but it looks okay.

Well thanks for sharing the pics, overall it was a funny update, but sorry it wasn't the best trip you ever had

-Justin "Those pictures are also very nice, BTW"

Robb,

Sorry your trip to Knotts was such a bust. Although, in my experience, I have never expected much from parks so early in the season.

I have had to deal for years with parks not being able to open rides purely due to lack of manpower to operate the rides safely.

But, I have a solution...Self-riding coasters...No more ride technicians!

A really long stick available to push the green button once everyone is on board! What do you think?

^ But Knott's isn't a seasonal park. They are open year round with job fairs happening all the time. But the main point is...the park never USED to be like this. It's only in the past 5 years with the current management that it's really been crappy.

--Robb "Who would love to have Knott's back to how it used to be run." Alvey

It'll be interesting to see how the other CF parks are once Jack Falfas is in charge.

^ Yeah...I mean, I hope they all don't turn into what Knott's has become!

Robb, have you filed any complaints at the park, or written an email to them about your experiences? I know, the last few years Knott's has really been caught in a downward spiral, the park to me is becoming like a carnival, classic ride goes out, carny ride goes in with little to no theming. IMO, the park has lost all charm it had , it's sad what the park has become. I still enjoy myself there, but it's sad to think what it used to be like.

Well, i dunno. I should see if I can treck out there to California and check out Knotts. I've never been there, so I would like to see how it does with first impersions. You might think that it has gone down, but a first timer might like it. Seriously, isn't Knotts supposed to be a family park, or is it a family park on the inside trying to attract older guests with XLR8R and Silver Bullet. I've been thinking that is what Six Flags is doing, except in reverse. Face it, Six Flags is trying to become more a family park, but really it is just a chain of smaller Ceder Points (roller coaster wise, that is). For example, SFOG in the past last year got 5 "family rides" and this year they are adding a "fun water park for the whole family"! I know I'm getting off topic here, but still, it's early in the year and hopefully they will get better staff, open up the rides, and stop trying to be something that it is not.

Pixelated out, yo!

I've noticed that those chain parks only care about their BIG Parks like CF obviously CP SF, SFMM SFGAdv and I could go on. The point is the smaller parks in chain always get neglected.

^ Knott's is not considered a smaller park within the chain.

Sure it's not the 'flagship' park, but it's within 3 hours of 8 million people. NOT a small park.

Gregg "Glad I didn't have Robb pick up our AP's yesterday" C.

Thanks for the TR, Robb. Now I'm really looking forward to going out there. 90 minutes may be more than I can handle. Luckily I won't be paying a cent to get in there, and can look forward to going to DLR sooner!

I think you guys are all crazy! KBF kicks butt! It's my second favorite park after SFMM. KBF runs pretty nice compared to some other parks. I don't understand why you guys have to be so harsh to a park that size.

^ Because every time we go there, it sucks. Plain and simple. Knott's *USED* to run nice compared to other parks, but out of the 200+ parks I've been to, it now ranks pretty close to the bottom.

Just out of curiosity, how many different parks have you been to?

--Robb "Just wanted to get an idea what your basis of comparison is." Alvey

Well, to give you an idea, I haven't been to one outside of California. I know, I really do suck. Please don't kill me. But every time I got to Knott's, the park is up and running well.

^Same here

But thats because I'm 13 and my dad is claustrophobic (sp?), so we can't fly. The last time I was at Knotts was during Haunt and it was horrible. They way oversold it and the line for XLR8R was over 3 hrs long! It took me and my friend an hour to get out of that place. Hopefully, my parents'll take me there again.

So in short, I think it's being managed horribly

^One good tip for you and Halloween Haunt. NEVER RIDE THE RIDES! It's much easier to ride the rides during the day (may I say that the park is practiacally EMPTY on Haunt days) and do the mazes at night. Haunt wasn't meant for riding coasters. Haunt was meant to scare the crap out of you.

Brent "who is sad becasue he's never been to a theme park out of California" Shenton

I really want to experience Knott's crappiness myself someday. I've been to 3 CF parks, CP, MIA, and GL and am adding Dorney this summer. I personally dont' think that CF neglects their smaller parks as CF has been fighting with Muskegon for water and they finally got it, and will expand the MIA majorily starting next year, and GL I think is getting a huge much needed expansion over the next two years. I thought KBF was their second largest park, and if so wouldn't they want to have a good park on both sides of the nation?? I plan on visiting the remaining CF parks within the next 5 years and until then I just dont' get it.

dang that sucks. Last time i went there it was great. Sounds like lt's gone downhill. :?

Well, to give you an idea, I haven't been to one outside of California. I know, I really do suck. Please don't kill me. But every time I got to Knott's, the park is up and running well.

The sad thing about me is that my parents absolutely HATE Six Flags Magic Mountain... so they won't take me there. I am stuck with just Knotts and The Disneyland Resort

It sounds like Knotts has gone downhill since it got the new owner. I was great when I went in October, because then they actually had good service then. Even though I can still forgive a park Very VERY Easily, I still can't forgive Knotts for some things they did. :o I hope the crummy service is only temporary.

Kevin"Please run Knotts better!" Bujold

I'm suprised, I usually think that Ceder Fair's parks look pretty nice (never been to one... but the photos of them look awesome). It looks like Knotts is a good park, just not under good management (sp?). A dream park would be Six Flags rides, Ceder Fair's friendlyness and neatness, and Disney's secenery. That would be TEH AWEXOMEORZ!

that never happend to us when we went it has always been good operating on the coasters kbf kind sucks now but xcelerator still kicks butt